Soulless: Legacy Of The Hood Ninja
by Denonu
Summary: A young man's quest for venegance and power will either ascend a long forgotten ninja clan or destroy a powerful country's hope for peace.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Normally the darkness is cold, frightful, unseen, and unwanted. But at other times it can be useful, inspiring, and often just as deadly. Deep in the woods shadows scurry about the night, their visages shifting from tree to tree, branch to branch. They are shinobi or ninja as some come to know them by. Ancient mercenaries of bereavement. Most are noble assassins, but many are wayward. As swiftly as the wind they move, just as silently as calmness herself. They came to a clearing, overlooking a small rural village down beneath them. They all wore dark clothing, and white masks covered their faces. The one in front dictated orders. Acknowledging his will they ran down at the village. Their blades were drawn in deadly fashion. The screams of mayhem soon filled the air as the village began burning around its inhabitants. Those who lived and weren't suffocated by flames, were succumbed by the vicious assault of the invading faction. No one was sparred. Adults, elderly, and even children were ripped apart. The remnants of the bodies burned with their former homes. Their bodies were encrusted with blood when the invading shinobi left. Their mission a success, but a mistake was made. The orders were to eliminate all opposition and they did so with prejudice. They are ANBU. But part of the enemy they didn't want to kill. These other adversaries were from Wind Country a growing enemy of their own village. They were merchants, a family. The ninjas killed them without faltering but made it look like robbery. They took the family's only child. He was a newborn, not even a day old and headed for home.

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	2. Sixteen Years Later

Chapter 1

Sixteen Years Later

Eyes opened and blurriness wavered. A young man sat up in his bed and turned his head to face a nearby window. The image was that of a sunny day, sunlight glinting off of a landscape portrait engraved in the side of a nearby mountain. Four gigantic heads, symbols of this village's former protectors, the strongest ninja in their days. The hokage. A look of anger crossed the boy's face and he stood from his bed. He gathered two sets of clothes, and put on the first pair he grabbed. Just as he finished the door to his room swung open. Another teen peered into the room and glanced around for its occupant. He saw nothing in the room but a bed. He raised an eyebrow as he questioned his senses. Shrugging his shoulders he left closing the door behind him.

Gripping his clothes in his left arm, he ran across the giant wall which segregated his home, Area 294. A place of living designed and supported by the Konoha housing authority. It was two large buildings in which rooms where tightly packed together. It was seven stories high and most rooms had no view except for the top floor. The occupants view was sacrificed when regular citizens kept throwing rocks at the building shattering windows. The tension between Konoha and Area 294 were very high. The people of Area 294 were the poorest of the poor in Konoha. Most were Orphans or kids who had been abandoned. After the attack of the nine tales kyuubi many homes and parents were killed. Konoha had made a decision to accommodate the people who were left behind. But the other people who had families and profitable lives looked upon the others with hatred, because they were poor or it reminded them of the nine tales incident. Konoha also hasn't gone out of its way to help the people of Area 294. The people had public toilets and showers unlike the rest of the village. They also weren't granted certain things like the ability to choose to go to ninja school, or the option of living outside the sectioned area. The children of Area 294 were mostly thieves and vagrants, always recognized as such by the main populace.

The ground rushed toward him as he leapt from the wall. Upon landing he continued his dash through Konoha's merchant district and exited past the village's main gates. Soon he came to his secluded spot, away from anyone and everyone. A small waterfall and pond surrounded by tall trees and bushes. He walked to the edge of the falls and disrobed. He preferred this way of bathing versus the way they told him to. It just felt better in addition to feeling cleaner. He cleaned his body under the falls for about twenty minutes. He was thinking about this day, the day when he would prove himself to Konoha. To show them that the people of Area 294 are just as equal as they are in every aspect. The Chunin Exam. It was a test that pits you against your fellow peers to see who elevates from genin to chunin. Those who take place in the exam are from many different countries and viewed by thousands of people in a large arena. Normally those who participate are graduates of ninja academies, but his only friend, Xon (_One_), found and forced Konoha to accept its own minor law. It states that anyone who currently lived in the village could participate as long as they were from an organization as large as two hundred people. Well Xon found his way around that pretty quickly and founded his own. Konoha put him through the paperwork motions and hoped that he would give up after a while and change his mind. After three years they reluctantly agreed to the proposal. They had to. It was the law, even if it was a very old and no longer respected one. If Konoha had said no, their rivals would see that as untrustworthy. Konoha had a reputation of being noble and understanding. And since their income came from people who hire their services, this could hurt their profits.

Fully clothed he left the pond and headed back to the village. Glancing upward, looking at the sun he determined he had a little more time left. He came upon a beef bowl shop and sat down. Xon had told him about this place a while ago. It's the best in town he said. He remembered Xon's facial expressions when he told him. The owner came and asked for his order and he gave the businessman his request. After a few minutes his meal came and he paid as he received it. Carrying a hot bowl and steaming tea he went to a table in the corner of the establishment. He sat down and began to eat his meal. Two other patrons glanced at him and he noticed their spite toward him. It happened everywhere. People instantly knew that he was from Area 294 and disliked him for it. He set his chopsticks down finishing his bowl and grabbed his tea firmly.

-- I want to be the greatest Hokage ever

Without knowing so, he crushed the clay glass in his hand. His hand shaking, the broken pieces of clay clenched tightly in a fist. Everyone watched as he stood and put money on the table with his free hand. As he left he glanced at the person who said the ridiculous notion. The speaker was a small yellow-haired boy wearing an orange outfit. But what stood out to him was the Konoha leaf symbol on his forehead protector. With the beef bowl stand behind him he continued toward the arena. Feeling wetness in his hand he raised it. He hadn't realized that clay from the broken glass was embedded in his hand. Stopping at the arena entrance he looked at his hand as he picked the glass from it.

-- Soulless.

He glanced upward when he heard his name.

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	3. Festival Of Lights

Chapter 2

Festival of Lights

Dawn. The people of Nyte were busy with preparing for their annual festival. The whole town got into the spirit of the season. Every year carts full of games, foods, and exotic trinkets litter the streets of this small town. They celebrated the most common thing the rest of the world takes for granted; sunlight. It only graced them for one day a year. An atmospheric disturbance prevented any light from reaching their country. Outsiders called it The Falling. Due to this natural event the place became to be known as The Country of Night. Many people never enter it because of the overwhelming presence it has. It takes determination and great will to go there. Many believe it is a trivial concept, but they all say that until it becomes shown to them. The light and dark doesn't gradually coincide with each other. You just come to a wall of darkness that stretches high into the sky, As if the sun were mocking the Earth by showing itself everywhere on the planet except for one spot. But like everywhere else on the planet people lived there. Since the beginning of human history, they always have been there. Over the years evolution gave them a gift others didn't have. Their eyes were naturally attuned to darkness. The inhabitants had no need for any light; they saw the night as clearly as most people see on a cloudless day. That's why they celebrated the sun and its life giving rays when they could. The scent of puffy (_a tiny nocturnal creature that feeds on small insects)_ filled the air as venders served food and presented games to children. The food was mostly animals and plants which they ate all the time. Offerings were free on the day of the festival and they all took advantage of the daytime, either drinking or playing with kids.

One family didn't have the luxury. Their home was one the outskirts of the village. A man paced himself around his home awaiting information about his wife. His spouse was in labor and it had been a troublesome pregnancy. Many times his wife was ill and on most days couldn't get out of her bed. He worried that his child might not be able to enter this world and that his wife might leave him for her next life. He knew he wouldn't be able to take the loss of them both. Unable to stop uneasiness he fidgeted with a cup of hot sable leaf (_a plant whose fluids produce a sweet nectar when heated_) tea. He heard his aunt, the midwife, enter the room and he asked.

-- How are they?

-- They are both fine Jai, so stop worrying and sit down.

His feelings dropped as hard as a bag of wet mud and he gulped the rest of his beverage. His aunt handed him his beautiful baby boy. The child opened his eyelids and he thought his saw the baby's eyes in a different form and shape other than normal. His thoughts ran rampant as he thought his child was deformed.

--What's wrong with his eyes?

The midwife looked at the child and dismissed the statement she had heard. He glanced at his offspring and the eyes were that of a normal child, white.

-- What are you taking about you know all newborns eyes are white. The color comes in after a few weeks.

-- Yeah, I must really be losing it.

Jai suddenly stared at the door as did his aunt. He pulled up his sleeve and removed a gauntlet which he always wore. After he handed it to his kin, she took the child from him and left the room. The man readied himself and the door busted open. The scent of blood and the cries of his clan arrived at his home and the same time as shinobi. They looked at each other and the ninja came at him with a life time of training. Jai skillfully dodged the blade of his opponent several times, before they broke from their engagement.

-- Who are you? What do you want from us?

Jai asked with sternness, but the ninja said nothing before slamming his hands together as he tried to perform a jutsu. At a speed the ninja couldn't match Jai struck his enemy with a hard blow to the center of his chest. Blood spat through a mask which the assassin had worn on his face. His rib cage collapsed inward and he was flung far into a wall behind him. Striking the surface with enough force, he broke through and was surrounded with rocky cement as he landed. Air quickly left his body and so did his life.

The sound of a scream drew Jai into the next room. His bed was lying covered in blood along with his wife. His eyes widened as his saw the horrible wounds in her chest and face. The sounds of gurgling blood came escaping her mouth. His aunt at his feet suffered a similar fate, and he began searching for his child his anger reaching points he didn't know he had. The stench of death overwhelmed him so much that he didn't hear the loud chirpings of birds. A hand protruded from his abdomen and his felt warmness wash over his lower half. Jai's legs gave out as his blood caressed them with its crimson, silky touch. Collapsing in a pool of his own blood Jai's life left him with thoughts of his son on his mind. An unseen ninja stood there staring at his bloody arm, contemplating what he had done. The guilt of his acts weighed heavily his mind as it always does.

-- I'm sorry.

Through the mask the ninja saw the life of his victims through the house. He went from room to room in a state of awe. He could tell that they had a nice quiet peaceful life. Drawings hung on the walls showing portraits of smiling faces, occasions, and picnics. The home was nicely kept. Everything in order, the furs under his feet felt nice, warm under the heat of a nearby fireplace. The ninja removed his mask and tears began falling down, the hairs on the floor were matted down with wetness as the ninja regretted what he had done. He could tell by the toys around him that the couple was expecting a child. Imprints of the fathers pacing was evident in the floor. The scent of copper and tea washed over him and through clenched teeth he yelled and punched the wall. Removing his broken fist from the wall, he looked at the ceiling in a blank state. One of his fellow ninjas appeared in the doorway and gave his report as he was ordered to.

-- We've eliminated all opposition and we've begun to burn the village.

The ninja leader lowered his head and turned to his fellow member with a sad look evident on his face.

-- Proceed to meet with the others I'll be along shortly.

His subordinate disappeared out the door and the he walked outside the home slowly putting his mask back on. Looking at the house one last time he vanished as a breeze went by carrying the smell of burning wood.

Nearby, heading toward the village two merchants walked along talking about events which proceeded to have their country's notice.

-- Yeah and I even heard that they have had emissaries from the Hidden Leaf village.

-- Hidden Leaf why would they want the Yugala Clan.

-- Are you kidding the Yugala Clan are a clan of prodigies. Normally one or two prodigies grace a village every generation, but with the Yugala Clan, every child that is born has natural talent. Imagine an entire clan full of skillful assassins. But we don't have to worry about the Leaf because the Yugala signed with us. The female stopped as her husband did and watched him sniff the air.

-- Do you smell something?

-- Smells like wood.

They glanced at each other and hurried to their destination. They encountered a home burning and crackling in the evening sun. The sound of crying was heard through the rumbling of the house. Wrapping his head in a cloth the merchant glanced at his wife. His wife understood his thoughts and she voiced hers.

-- Be careful.

-- I know don't worry.

The man nodded and ran toward the home. The flames surrounded him as he entered the house. The stench of burnt flesh hit him as did the heat. The crying came from a nearby bedroom and through flames and heat waves the man slowly made his way to that room. He kicked open the door and the yellow spikes leapt at him. The source of the wailing was a baby that was put in floor model cabinet. Snatching the child he quickly made his way out. Upon exiting the roof collapsed. The man coughed as he handed the child to his partner. He gathered himself and they quickly left as they figured out what happened. They were merchants but not ignorant to the politics of shinobi. They knew an attack when they saw one and they also knew they happened to be a part of it. Suddenly they were both struck in the back and they fell forward dropping the newborn to the ground. The salesman began to rise and he saw feet surrounding him. Trying to move away he felt himself getting stabbed repeatedly in the back. The child cried as the two merchants were killed by the band of assassins. One of the ninjas was about to kill the child but the leader stopped him.

-- Stop. I won't kill a helpless child. We've already done enough. I'll take the child with us.

He picked up the child and wrapped him in his medical bandages to keep warm. The group then dispersed and the headed for home leaving only death behind them.

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	4. How To Kill A Hokage Step One

Chapter 3

How to Kill a Hokage

Step One

Soulless looked up and saw Xon coming toward him. He felt a twinge in his hand and saw that the previous cuts left by the glass were gone. Squeezing his hand twice he resumed his interest in Xon. He was suddenly talking to a female woman who had seen a second earlier. Xon had a two track mind. Track one was his admiration for Area 294 and the other was women. Soulless just shook his head and continued on his way. The arena entrance was large and had the smell of polished stone. People were everywhere. Two lines formed into two separate doors one was labeled contestants and the other was named spectators. Soulless entered the one for the participants and a man grabbed him by the shoulder.

-----What are you doing here boy? Beggars aren't allowed inside.

Soulless gave into his anger and in one swift move he grabbed the security guard's arm and twisted the brown haired man around slamming him into a concrete pillar next to him. In the process his arm broke and he screamed loudly as Soulless released him. As a crowd amassed Soulless left and headed for the waiting area. The waiting room was on the second floor so Soulless found the nearest flight of stairs and headed up. On the way up he heard someone walking down, they came face to face before passing each other. Soulless stared at the person who was obviously a contestant in the exam. He had red hair and wore a large gourd on his back. This unknown fighter from Wind Country looked deeply at Soulless and saw that eyes held a dark murderous past. After a couple seconds they passed each other and went about their business. Eventually he reached his destination and found that the contestants were outside waiting for the matches to start. The waiting room had two couches, a table, a water dispenser and a vending machine. Soulless went to the table and pulled a pouch from his pocket. He dumped the pouches contents onto the table as he heard the sound of tiny footsteps approach him.

-----Wow, those are pretty.

Soulless turned and found a little girl next to him. She was a young girl about five or six with long blonde hair. As he stared at her she just smiled back at him before looking at the table again. Soulless' pouch contained different colored diamonds. Some were big and others small. Soulless reached into his pocket again and pulled out some string. With his other hand he sifted through the diamonds and found a tiny purple one. He picked it up and enclosed it in a fist. His hand filled with chakra and he opened it a few seconds later. The diamond he held now had a tiny hole in it. He fed the string through the hole then broke the string in half. The half with the diamond he tied in a knot and put his makeshift diamond necklace around the little girl's neck.

-----Wow, thank you mister.

He patted her on the head and she ran off staring at her new possession. After ward he spread out the rest of the diamonds on the table and used both hands to infuse the minerals with his chakra. The shiny rocks combined into a shaft like object and after a few minutes it took the form of a katana. His chakra then compressed the minerals even further giving the blade an even sharper edge. He pulled up his right sleeve and his arm was wrapped with a white cloth. He unraveled his arm and a white and black band was uncovered. He didn't know what the band stood for, but he had it for as long as he could remember. Soulless always kept the band covered from the eyes of other people. He removed the band also and placed it next to the diamond blade. As he began wrapping the white cloth around the handle of the blade his mind drifted back eleven years. He remembered when he first discovered his chakra. He was six years old sitting his room. It was dark, cold and he was hungry. Everyone else was in the basement playing but he was always an outsider. He stared at the gauntlet on his arm concentrating on what this thing was and what it meant. The feeling of warmth crossed over his arm and into the attachment on his body. The white and black object shrunk into a tiny band about the size of a coin. His eyes widened and he felt the same warmth wash over his other arm. He lifted his arm from the floor and beneath his hand was dust. He pushed the tiny grains aside and found an indentation in the floor. He didn't know what he did but over the years he practiced this ability and found that he could change the shape of the band on his arm and certain rocks in the ground. Soulless shook his head and stopped daydreaming. He grabbed the band and it changed shape into a black sheath. Soulless grabbed his blade and inserted it into the sheath. The sword fit perfectly into its new home when a person's loud voice echoed through the room. Grabbing the length of string, he tied one end at the bottom of the sheath and the other at the top. He headed towards the exit door carrying his new weapon. A bright light along with the sun's warmth caressed his skin as he left and found himself upon a landing overlooking the arena ring beneath him and the other fighters. The source of the disturbance was Xon standing in the ring yelling at the announcer.

----You scared of my man, I understand how it is. That's why you ain't letting him fight first. Bring out your favorite. Or it he weak too.

The announcer glanced toward the Hokage. The village leader nodded and the announcer reluctantly approved the request. He knew that the Hokage only wanted to get this loud mouthed fool out of the ring so he could get on with the tournament. But the announcer also thought it served another purpose. The contestant from Area 294 would easily get beaten by this year's favorite, Neji Hyuuga. And when that happened they had an excuse to ban Area 294 from the Chuunin Exam for good. Xon satisfied with the decision walked over to the wall and jumped onto the landing next to Soulless.

----You know if you lose. I'm never going to let you forget it.

Soulless said nothing before leaping from the landing. He walked to the center of the ring as did his opponent. The announcer then looked at them both before speaking to the crowd.

-----We have Hyuuga Neji of the Hyuuga Clan vs.

The announcer then glanced at Soulless and as he a question.

-----What's the name of your group?

Soulless was about to answer when he heard Xon's voice yelling at him again.

-----Hey, Soulless.

Xon tossed an object into to the ring at Soulless. He looked at it and it was metal sleeve. He positioned it and put his left arm through it and the sleeve locked in place and extended from his wrist to elbow. It was a clan identifier much like the ninja head bands but the image displayed looked like a gust of wind blowing leaves. The tiny leaves were the symbol of the hidden leaf.

-----He's Hood ninja.

Xon then left heading for the area he called home and the Announcer continued his previous statement.

-----Vs. Soulless of the Hood Ninja.

The spokesman took a few steps back and started the match up. The wind blew between the two fighters creating a loud whistling noise. Soulless and his opponent just stared at each other for a few seconds before taking their fighting stances.

Neji looked upon Soulless and tried to read his advisory, he knew that he was from Area 294 but that's about all he new about him. By the way he carried himself he assumed that he was a loner just like this year's number one rookie. Sasuke Uchiha. He carried a sword or staff on his back and didn't carry an equipment pouch. Judging from the rumors, this was Area 294's first appearance at the exam. Area 294 didn't have a ninja school or any kind for that matter. Almost everyone there was self taught and poor. Neji felt offended by the fact that they would match him up with someone who didn't even have proper training and skills. He decided to make this match a quick one. Neji reached into his pouch and produced three kunai. In a swift motion he threw three in the direction of Soulless. One flew from the front and the other two approached from the sides. Soulless leapt into the air dodging the three knives. The three kunai hit each other and one was redirected upward toward its intended target. As the blade headed towards him, Soulless reached for his own weapon. With no leverage to move the only option was to go through. At the pinnacle of the jump he did a flip and pulled out his sword slicing the kunai in two. The two halves parted away from him and he landed on the ground with his sword extended toward Neji.

-----Here's some advice. Don't treat me like a genin.

Neji heard his opponent's voice for the first time and he began to think that his match might not be as easy as he thought.


End file.
